A successful Git branching model

Abstraction: Git-flow branching model with master, develop, feature, release, hotfix branches

Key points:

• Two permanent branches: master (always production-ready) and develop (integration branch for next release)
• Feature branches fork from develop and merge back with --no-ff to preserve branch history
• Release branches fork from develop, get version number bumped, then merge into both master and develop
• Hotfix branches fork from master for urgent production fixes, merge back into both master and develop
• Author's 2020 reflection: git-flow is best for explicitly versioned software; for continuous delivery web apps, simpler GitHub Flow is preferred
• --no-ff flag on merges creates an explicit commit object, keeping feature history visible

Connections: Git · Branching Strategy · Version Control · Continuous Delivery

Source: http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/